"There are people that feed vegetables and potatoes and stuff like that … to offset the high price of grains, but I've never heard of that," said Cameron, managing partner of Mesquite Cattle Feeders, an operation that feeds up to 35,000 head of cattle in Brawley, Calif. "He's probably at an advantage by doing that."

Smith, whose cows got a star turn on the local news, said he is baffled by the attention. The candy was just temporary, he said, because workers are harvesting his farm's corn, some of which will end up as feed.